Saturday, February 28, 2015

Rob and Sandy Butler: Sail Canada Sailors of the Month!

J/88 sailing downwind off Key West, Florida(Toronto, Ontario, Canada)- Sail Canada’s Sailor of the Month award acknowledges sailing achievements by Canadians involved or associated with the sport in all its forms. Here is an excerpt from the January report:

The ever-popular Quantum Key West Race Week delivered picture perfect sailing conditions until the final day of racing where competitors were faced with howling winds and rough seas forcing the top contenders to raise their game in order to claim victory.

The Canadian entry in the J/88 class was Ontario natives Rob and Sandy Butler, sailing on TOUCH2PLAY. TOUCH2PLAY trailed behind class leader DEVIATION for most of the week, eventually capitalizing on DEVIATION’s weaknesses on the final day. The Butler crew racked up three bullets in the heavy air, clinching the overall win on a tie-breaker!

“We kind of put the pressure on (Deviation) by winning the last race on Thursday. We still trailed by two points so we knew we had to come out and win both races today,” Rob Butler said. “Our crew was really dialed in and we had very good boat speed. I’m proud of the team for doing what we had to do in order to win the regatta.”

The Butler’s have an extensive resume of successful titles including a clean sweep of the J/70 open series last March and top Canadian performances in other classes, among other impressive results going back several years. Sail Canada congratulates Rob and Sandy Butler for their Key West title and name the Butler’s Sailor of the Month – January! Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com